


the foundation, it's a sign (it's a sigh)

by tigerlo



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Smut, I'm not sure how to tag this, Smut, and a little bit of fun, and half smut, it's kind of half little adventure fic, with a little bit of character introspection in the beginning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2019-02-09 16:14:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12891723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigerlo/pseuds/tigerlo
Summary: Waverly finds herself in a dangerous situation through some well-meant intentions, and Nicole and Wynonna have to come and save her.





	the foundation, it's a sign (it's a sigh)

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so you know how you never know where some fics are going to go? Well this is one of them. It's got a bit of everything, Waverly introspection at the start, bad guys, a little heart-felt admission, smut, you name it.
> 
> I'm always so fascinated by Waverly and how she reconciles herself around and against the other people in her life, particularly those she sees as more capable, and the idea that she feels she needs to prove herself to those people because they're _stronger_ than her? Even though they'd never ask or want that from her, she still feels like she needs to demonstrate her own strength? Well if this fic has any type of theme, that's it.
> 
> Anyway, I'll hush. Just read, I think you'll enjoy it.
> 
> x
> 
> oh, and p.s the title's not a typo, just in case anyone's worried ;)

-

  
  


Waverly has never really  _ fit _ . 

 

Not properly, anyway. 

 

She's well-liked, sure. Adored even. But she's never felt like she  _ really  _ fit anywhere. 

 

Her sisters were louder than her. More brash. Her father cold, even from the start. 

 

And it should have made her hard. It should have made her angry. But she's let it make her  _ kind _ instead. 

 

Soft. 

 

Part of her thinks that's why she was so drawn to Nicole in the first place. 

 

Because in walks Nicole Haught with her bright eyes and curiously interested smile, who looks at her like she's made of gold and not iron, like everyone else in her life has always done. 

 

Like she's second best, like she doesn’t  _ belong _ here. 

 

No, Nicole looks at her like she's the prize, and honestly, she doesn't know what to do with that in the beginning, so she overcompensates. 

 

She mumbles and falls over her words and throws Champ into the conversation, because she's straight, right? But she knows Nicole sees through it, because she just smiles softly. And  _ perseveres _ . 

 

And no one has ever done that for her before. 

 

Nicole is different and Nicole is kind, and a little forward in a way that makes Waverly blush, but she's so deeply genuine, too. 

 

Her hands are warm where they rest over Waverly's across the bar after Shorty is killed. 

 

They're light, but solid and comforting, and they make her breathe easier. They're soft and calming and nothing like Champ’s clammy grip when they paw for her. Unmistakably feminine, but strong, too.

 

Nicole's gaze is gentle, her voice kind as she tells Waverly she's  _ sorry, _ and Waverly knows with a certainty that whatever she asked of Nicole in that moment, the other woman would do. 

 

She'd pull stars out of the sky or take the town to pieces or kiss Waverly until she couldn't remember what her name was, and all she'd have to do is ask. 

 

And then the world gets in the way.

 

The whole time though, Waverly’s hands  _ ache _ to reach for her again, but she doesn’t. She can’t. 

 

Waverly wants to walk over to the station or drive up to wherever it is that Nicole now calls home and kiss her, again and again and again, interwoven with  _ I'm sorry’s  _ and  _ I'll fix this _ and  _ I'll make you feel like you again, just see _

 

Because Nicole isn't hers, not yet anyway. 

 

She does, though, later. She walks into the Sheriff’s office and pulls the blinds down and tries to be brave,  _ properly _ brave for the first time in her life. 

 

And it's the best, most terrifying decision she's ever made in her entire life. 

 

Because Nicole was incredible before, soft and kind and attentive, but when she's allowed to give Waverly everything, not holding back for fear of stepping on anyone's toes, she  _ glows.  _

 

She opens herself and lets Waverly in, and for the first time in her whole life, she  _ fits _ . 

  
  


-

  
  


They have enough trouble keeping their hands off each other before they sleep together for the first time, and it's only worse after they actually do. 

 

Nicole makes her insatiable, and they  _ kiss _ and  _ kiss _ and  _ kiss, _ but it's never enough. She craves Nicole from the moment she opens her eyes until the moment she falls asleep curled into Nicole's side, their release warming the cool around them, and Waverly loves every second of it. 

 

She's never been overly virginal, but she's never been very in touch with her sexuality either, and Nicole changes that. Nicole shows her everything. Nicole has hungry lips that take Waverly wherever she can have her; on a table or over the back of the couch or against the wall of her bedroom because they can't wait to make it to the bed. 

 

Nicole makes Waverly ache for her, she makes her dream of long fingers and a quick tongue, and Waverly melts into the memories during her waking hours when they are apart. 

 

But she does other things, too; she  _ settles _ Waverly. She makes a place for her at her side, as her equal, and Waverly loves her for it almost instantly. 

 

Which is why she's so worried about her current predicament. 

 

Because they are equals in every way  _ but _ the one in which Nicole and her sister are far more aligned, the only one around which Waverly feels like she has to prove herself. 

 

And she knows it's ridiculous, because she's good at a number of things that they're not, and never will be, but sometimes she can't help herself. And not that she would ever,  _ ever _ expect it or want it from her, but maybe a little bit of it is wanting to prove to Nicole that she  _ is _ capable. That she's not a mouse, she's a lion, too. Like they are. 

 

Although this is definitely  _ not _ the way to prove it. 

 

Tied to a chair in a stranger’s barn, rope rough at her wrists and her heart pounding in her chest, a fresh bruise blooming at the corner of her eye and blood in her mouth. 

 

Nicole is going to kill her. 

 

If her sister doesn't beat Nicole to it. 

 

It hadn't really been  _ all  _ her fault, although she definitely wouldn't have found herself in this position if she'd just stayed inside the damn bar, curiosity getting the better of her as she'd followed the decidedly dodgy character out into the alley way. 

 

Exactly where the woman had been waiting for her with a heavy fist and a getaway car to draw her sister and the deputy both out. 

 

Waverly frowns at that, at how she's somehow managed to become bait for not one, but  _ two _ figures of interest within their small town, but they're here regardless. 

 

Or she is, anyway. 

 

Waverly tries to flex her hands, testing the bonds, but they're much too tight to be able to work loose even a fraction, the coarse fibres rubbing painfully against the skin as she grimaces. 

 

She's scared, sure, but she’s not terrified because she knows Wynonna and Nicole will find her before long, if they're not nearby already, and she's worth much,  _ much  _ more alive than she is dead. Because the Revenants in this town are stupid, but they'd never risk bringing the wrath of both women down on them if anything were to actually happen to Waverly. 

 

That doesn't make her current predicament any more comfortable however, and she hisses when her wrists catch as she tries to move again. 

 

“You're stupider than I thought if you think there's any chance of you gettin’ out of those bonds, Waverly Earp,” a voice from behind her growls, and the woman from earlier walks around in front of her, the smoke from her cigarette lingering in the air between them. 

 

She's not someone Waverly's ever seen before, and that surprises her because Purgatory is a damn small town. Then again, their enemies  _ have _ come seemingly from nowhere before. 

 

She's got maybe ten years on Waverly, but she's still quite stunning, even by real-world and not Purgatory standards, her long red hair falling around her shoulders, framing her face as effectively as her skin-tight leather pants curve around her legs. 

 

“Yeah, well, you're stupider than I thought if you think this is going to end any way other than with Peacemaker pressed up against your temple before the ground swallows you whole,” Waverly quips back, blowing a strand of hair away from the cut above her eye where the woman's blow had landed. 

 

“You Earp girls are mouthy when you should damn-well know better,” the woman says, getting much closer to Waverly's face than she'd like, but there's nothing she can do about it, refusing to turn her head away. “It's about time someone taught you some respect.”

 

She crouches down in front of Waverly, taking the hand not holding her cigarette to grab Waverly by the chin and hold her face steady, and Waverly frowns, trying not to flinch. 

 

“Or maybe there's another way to get that message across, huh?” the woman purrs, her breath warm against Waverly's lips as her insinuation becomes clear. “I hear you like redheads now, after all.”

 

She's just about to turn her head sharply, definitely not keen on exploring  _ that _ method of persuasion, when a few things happen in very quick succession. 

 

A shotgun goes off in the background before a loud crash sounds somewhere to the side of her, and Waverly spins as much as she can, searching for the source of the ruckus. 

 

“I like redheads, too,” comes a voice from behind the woman, just as she's about to lean in, and Waverly sighs in relief as Wynonna walks through the newly blasted hole in the barn doors. “Do I get a kiss?”

 

“Thank god,” Waverly mutters in relief as her eyes settle on her sister, before they search for a flash of red to accompany it. They don't find it, though, and Waverly frowns before the scene in front of her takes her attention fully. 

 

“Wynonna Earp,” the woman drawls as she stands to meet Wynonna, her face turning with the smirk that crosses her features at Wynonna’s arrival. 

 

“Red-headed stranger,” Wynnona echoes back in a slightly mocking tone, her eyes keen on the woman and the gun at her hip. “How about you get the hell away from my sister?”

 

“You're so predictable,” the woman sneers at Wynonna as they turn each other in a circle like lions on the defensive. 

 

“I am anything but,” Wynonna says with proper offence in her voice before she turns her head quickly to Waverly. “You ok, baby girl?”

 

“Just dandy,” Waverly says with a grimace as hidden as she can make it when her bonds pull again, but she sees Wynonna catch it and hears Wynonna growl in response. 

 

“It's quite a pickle you've got yourself in here, kid,” Wynonna says with a frown as her eyes dart between Waverly and the redhead before she turns to her fully. “Not as big a one as you've got yourself in, though, sister.”

 

“You think too highly of yourself, Earp,” the redhead says as she takes one step, and then another, towards Wynonna. “Too cocky to bring the deputy, huh? Shame. I'd have liked to kill her, too.”

 

“Only one dying today is you, babe,” Wynonna says with a grimace before planting her feet, anticipating the rush the second before it comes. 

 

The redhead is fast, her hands moving straight for Wynonna’s throat, not paying any mind to the gun at her waist as she moves forward. Wynonna knocks them out of the way easily, though, but catches a blow to the side of her shoulder for her trouble, not quite able to get away from its trajectory. 

 

They part for a moment before they come back together in a crash of fists and thumps and growls, and Waverly spares a moment to look around the barn for any sight of Nicole, but she comes up empty. 

 

She turns back to her sister to see the redhead sitting on Wynonna’s legs on the ground, her hands reaching for her throat again as Wynonna desperately tries to divert them, her knees trying to catch the other woman in the back with enough force to distract her. 

 

It's not working, though even Waverly can see that, and she watches as Wynonna realises that, too. She tilts her head to the side, looking at the door she broke through and yells. 

 

“Plan B, Plan B, Plan B,” Wynonna calls at the top of her lungs, and it's enough,  _ just _ enough to divert the redhead’s attention for a second. 

 

Wynonna doesn't waste any time, knocking her off balance and rolling on top of the other woman, pinning her hands down above her head as the most welcome sight in the world comes walking through the barn door with a shotgun raised high. 

 

“Having all the fun without me?” Nicole says with a smirk as she cocks the gun and throws Wynonna a glance before walking straight to Waverly's side. 

 

Her expression turns from hard to soft immediately as she drops to her knees, discarding the gun on the floor, her hands going straight to the bonds at Waverly's wrists. 

 

“Thank god,” Nicole says, looking over Waverly desperately as she starts to pull at the rope gently, stopping for a second to look at the wound above her eye. “Are you ok? Did she hurt you?” 

 

“I'm ok,” Waverly says, wincing when the ropes pinch. “ _ Ouch _ . Mostly ok, anyway.”

 

“I'm going to kick her ass,” Nicole growls as she loosens the rope as gently as she can, grimacing along with Waverly when she bites her lip in pain. “I'm sorry, baby. I'm sorry.”

 

“It's ok,” Waverly sighs, her heart fluttering when one of her hands finally pulls loose and she can put her palm to Nicole's cheek softly. “Thank you.”

 

Nicole frees her other hand before she pulls Waverly, still sitting in the chair, roughly to her chest as she moves to kneel between Waverly's thighs. Her hand threads in the hair at the nape of Waverly's neck while her lips brush against Waverly's pulse. 

 

“God, you scared the crap out of me,” Nicole says, her voice fierce and her grip firm. “Don't do that again, ok?”

 

“Ah, Officer Haught?” Wynonna says, clearing her throat, with a slight note of disbelief in her voice. “A little help?”

 

Nicole pulls away and gives Waverly one last glance, brushing the hair out of her eyes and away from the cut before she stands, picking up the gun as she does so. 

 

“You look like you've got everything under control,” Nicole says, switching seamlessly back into control-mode as she walks over to give Wynonna a hand. 

 

“Oh yeah, it's a regular Sunday picnic over here,” Wynonna says with a fake smile as she readjusts her position over the other woman, getting a better grip on the woman's wrists before she throws a glance to the gun at her own hip. “Do you mind?”

 

Nicole hesitates for a second, and it's because Waverly doesn't think she's ever actually touched Peacemaker before. She doesn't for long, though, reaching for the gun before she hands it swiftly to Wynonna, who shifts to a one-handed grip before pointing the barrel directly between the redhead’s eyes. 

 

“What's your game, bitch?” Wynonna growls to the woman as Peacemaker’s barrel  _ glows _ . “You got a reason for stealing my sister, or just a death wish?”

 

“Bit of both?” the woman says, smirking as she tries to put the last of her strength into throwing Wynonna off, but it doesn't work. Wynonna's in control now. 

 

“Damn stupid move,” Wynonna says with a shake of her head and a grimace. 

 

“Was it?” The woman asks with a grin and a confidence that comes from knowing she has nothing to lose. “I know that the Earp Heir and the Sheriff’s office will drop everything to come after one little girl.”

 

Waverly opens her mouth to argue as she spins on her chair, her legs still a little shaky to stand, but Nicole beats her to it. 

 

“She's not just one little girl,” Nicole growls. 

 

“You're only proving my point more, Officer Haught,” the woman says smirking as Wynonna levels her gun again. “I'm sure all my friends downstairs will be thrilled to hear that, just in case any of us manage to  _ come back.” _

 

“Come back and we’ll just do this dance again,” Wynonna says with an even voice, but Waverly can hear the anger under the surface. 

 

“It won’t be you here though, will it? And maybe I'll finish first next time?” the redhead sneers. 

 

“No damn chance,” Wynonna says, low and dangerous as her finger flexes on the trigger. “I hope the road is long and painful, lady.”

 

Peacemaker’s barrel burns and the earth opens and Waverly breathes, for the first time since she turned into the alley. 

 

“I don't know if I'll ever get used to that,” Nicole says, staring a little stupidly at the ground as the light fades and Wynonna stands up, wiping straw off her knees. 

 

“Sure you will,” Wynonna says as she walks over to clap a hand on Nicole's arm. “You're part of the family now, Officer. Whether you like it or not. Which also means if you don't come and help me quicker next time, I get to kick your ass, too.”

 

“You can  _ try _ ,” Nicole says with a raised eyebrow, her voice cynical, although Waverly can see the warmth Wynonna's words have left against her skin. 

 

“Ooh, feisty,” Wynonna quips before they both make their way over to Waverly. “I can see why you like her more and more every day, sis.”

 

She smiles, a whole and warm smile because she was never completely sure how Wynonna was going to take them together, but she's been more accepting than Waverly could have hoped for. 

 

“I know,” Waverly says, her body folding a little as Nicole crouches down to her side. “Lucky me, huh?”

 

“Yes, lucky you,” Nicole says, moving in gently to look Waverly over. “What did she do, did she hurt you?”

 

“It could have been worse,” Waverly says, wincing as Nicole's fingers touch the tender spot on the back of her head where she’d been hit the first time. “Ow….”

 

“I think we should take you to the hospital to get checked out,” Nicole says, looking over Waverly's shoulder to Wynonna for a show of support. 

 

“That's a pretty nasty looking cut on your head, kid,” Wynonna says, bending down to inspect it a little closer herself. “I think the lady’s right.”

 

“Can't you just clean it up at home?” Waverly asks Nicole, her face turning at the thought of having to sit through someone else looking her over. 

 

“Humour me?” Nicole asks pleadingly. “If it weren't for the huge lump on the back of your head I'd say yes, but….”

 

“ _ Fine _ ,” Waverly grumbles as Nicole's fingers run ever so lightly over the bruised skin at her wrists. “But I want the royal treatment when we get home.” 

 

“Anything, baby,” Nicole says, bringing Waverly's wrists to her mouth gently, pressing a kiss over the angry red marks. 

 

“A bath,” Waverly grouses. “With bubbles.  _ And _ chocolate. And you.”

 

“Uh-uh,” Wynonna interrupts, throwing her hands in the air. “None of that, thank you. I don't need to hear about you two defiling each other.”

 

“I’d hardly call it  _ defiling _ ,” Nicole says with a casual roll of her shoulders. “Not if Wave isn't feeling a hundred percent, anyway….”

 

Wynonna throws her a glare before she turns and walks towards the door without another word. 

 

“For that, you can carry Little Miss Adventure to the car,” Wynonna says as an afterthought, turning her back on them both. 

 

“I can walk,” Waverly insists, rolling her eyes as she stands up, her legs going out from beneath her almost immediately. 

 

“No, you can't,” Wynonna says matter-of-factly as she turns around. “ _ Officer _ ….”

 

“I've got you,” Nicole answers gently as she sweeps in and slides her arm around Waverly's waist. 

 

“I'll be fine in a sec,” Waverly says weakly before her head goes a little cloudy and her vision goes spotty. 

 

“Wave?” Nicole asks, her voice calm but concerned, her arm tightening around Waverly's waist. “Baby?”

 

She wants to reply, but now that she's on her feet, she feels  _ tired, so _ tired, and her body goes numb at the edges, and the last thing she remembers is the feeling of Nicole's arms catching the underside of her legs before she  _ falls _ and everything goes  **black.**

  
  


-

  
  


She comes to some immeasurable length of time later to a soft rhythmic beeping, her eyes heavy and her mouth dry. 

 

It takes her a few tries to actually open her eyes properly, but when she does, she becomes aware of a red blur next to her, slumped into a chair at the side of her bed. 

 

She stirs and the blur moves instantly, and Waverly tries to clear her vision, shaking her head before wincing at the pain it causes. 

 

“Easy, baby,” comes Nicole's voice, gentle but firm, and Waverly feels her hand warm on Waverly's now bandaged wrists. “I'm just going to get the doctor, ok?”

 

She wants to argue that she doesn't need one, but her eyes are so,  _ so _ heavy, so she closes them, just for a second, and sleep takes her again. 

  
  


-

  
  


When she wakes again, her eyes are clearer, and the red blur is now a solid and very slumped, but distinguishable Nicole, and Waverly smiles, her mind lighter now, too. 

 

Nicole is bent over in the chair pulled close to the side of her bed, her hand on the bed beside Waverly's so it's easy to move her own, heavy with the IV line in it to thread their fingers together.

 

The light in the room is different, and Waverly's not sure what time it is, but it's obvious from the wrinkle in Nicole's uniform that it's been more than a few hours at least. 

 

She runs her thumb lightly over Nicole's knuckles and the redhead stirs softly, looking up dreamily with sleep-dazed eyes before she rubs at them and tightens her grip on Waverly's hand. 

 

“Hi,” Nicole says, her voice a little rough from lack of use. “How are you feeling, should I get the doctor?”

 

“Not just yet,” Waverly answers shaking her head as she leans back into the pillow. “I want a minute with you first.”

 

Nicole nods as she shuffles slightly closer to the side of the bed, taking Waverly's hand in both of hers. She brings Waverly's hand to her lips and presses a sweet kiss to each of her knuckles before setting it back on the bed, their fingers still linked. 

 

“What happened?” Waverly croaks, her throat a little dry. 

 

“Someone hit you very hard, and you tried to be braver that you should have,” Nicole says with a smile, her voice light enough, but the concern audible beneath it. “You stood up and fainted, so Wynonna and I brought you in to get checked out. The doctor says you're fine, just a reasonable concussion and some abrasions to your wrists from the rope. The cut above your eye didn't need a proper suture, but you'll want to be careful not to split the butterfly closure.”

 

“Between the two of us, we'll just about run this town dry of medical supplies, huh?” Waverly jokes with a wry smile before reaching tentatively to check the back of her head and her eyebrow. 

 

“How are you feeling?” Nicole asks her, her eyes warm with concern. 

 

“A little sore and tired, but ok,” Waverly says, squeezing Nicole's hand as the memory of Nicole collecting her before she hit the ground floats back into her mind. “Thank you for catching me.”

 

“Any time, baby,” Nicole offers with another soft smile before she moves to stand. “The doctor said you should be ok to go home once you woke if you felt up to it. If you want to?”

 

“Yes, please,” Waverly says with a grimace, looking around the cold hospital room. 

 

Nicole disappears to find someone to clear her to leave, and Waverly takes a moment to check in with her body. She feels a little lightheaded still, and her wrists ache from the bite of the rope, but beyond that, she feels ok. 

 

She's surprised Wynonna hasn't walked through the doors in Nicole's absence, but she doesn't have long to mull that over because Nicole comes back the next minute, doctor in tow. 

 

“How are you feeling, Miss Earp?” she asks, looking over her chart before taking a few vitals. 

 

“Fine,” Waverly says honestly, elaborating at the scowl from Nicole that says  _ tell the truth, Wave _ . “A little tender-headed, but ok?”

 

She looks up to Nicole, taking her hand as she stands rigid like a guard dog at Waverly's side, listening intently to the doctor. 

 

“I'm ok, baby,” she says quietly to Nicole. “I promise, I feel ok.”

 

“Everything else looks fine,” the doctor says to them both. “You're out of the initial danger period for head injuries so as long as Officer Haught here volunteers to take care of you at home, I'm happy to release you.”

 

“Of course,” Nicole says seriously to the doctor. “Are there any things I should look out for?”

 

“Just feeling or looking off-colour, dizziness or nausea that doesn't clear. The usual things,” the doctor says before signing the discharge papers and handing them to Nicole. “I'll get a nurse to take the IV out, and you're free to go.”

 

They both thank the doctor before Nicole perches delicately on the edge of her bed when the nurse comes back to unhook Waverly. 

 

“You're sure you feel ok to leave?” Nicole asks gently, tucking a loose strand of Waverly's hair behind her ear. “You look much brighter now, but it's ok if you want to stay.”

 

“I want to go home,” Waverly confirms, feeling much more herself now. “Especially when I've got it on the doctor's orders that you have to take care of me.”

 

“As if you'd ever be able to convince me to do anything but,” Nicole says with a soft smirk, and Waverly glows because she's right. Nicole is sweet and gentle and unbelievably attentive when she's feeling fine, so can only imagine what she's like when Waverly actually needs looking after. 

 

Not that she feels like she does anymore, but who is she to pass over a direct order from a medical professional, right? 

 

“Where's Wynonna?” Waverly asks after a moment, registering her continued absence. 

 

“Out hunting the rest of your friend’s friends,” Nicole says quietly. “She was going to stay, but I said I'd look after you.”

 

There's a glow to Nicole now, too, and Waverly knows exactly what it is because it makes her warm, as well. Wynonna has been unflinchingly by her side since her return, and if she's left Waverly at a time like this, it's because she trusts Nicole implicitly to look after her most precious possession, and Nicole knows that, too. 

 

“I'm sorry, Wave,” Nicole says suddenly, her face falling. “We didn't think that you'd want to see her straight away. I can give her a call, or….”

 

“I don't need her,” Waverly affirms softly, threading her fingers through Nicole's. “I have you.”

 

And some days she can't believe how lucky she is, because she's gone from nobody but Gus and Curtis, to having a family wrapped around her, Nicole and Wynonna the jewels. 

 

She wants Nicole to know this, she wants her to understand how much of Waverly’s heart she takes up,  _ all _ of it, full where it had been empty for so long. 

 

Nicole softens a little at Waverly's reassurance before she strokes her cheek gently. 

 

“Are you sure?” Nicole asks, still a little uncertain. “Because it's ok, Wave. It won't hurt my….”

 

“Positive,” Waverly says, turning her head to kiss Nicole's palm. “You're all I need. Plus, I don't think I should ask Wynonna to put me in the bath, do you?”

 

“Probably not, no,” Nicole replies with a laugh as she thanks the nurse on her way out of the room. “Do you need help getting dressed?”

 

She doesn't need it, no, but she  _ wants _ it, so she nods helplessly with a smile as she turns to Nicole, who knows she's playing a little before she helps Waverly swing her legs out of the bed. 

 

“Waverly  _ Earp _ ,” Nicole whispers as she brings a handful of Waverly's clothes over to the bed. “You wouldn't be taking advantage of the doctor’s orders, would you?”

 

“I would  _ never _ ,” Waverly says in mock-horror at the accusation, pulling Nicole gently to stand between her thighs where her feet dangle off the edge of her bed. “It isn't taking advantage to ask my girlfriend to help me get dressed, is it?”

 

Nicole smirks down at her, and the look says _ I have your number Waverly Earp _ and  _ you're obviously feeling just fine if you can flirt like this, _ but her eyes soften and she looks to Waverly with a slightly crinkled brow as her palms smooth over the top of Waverly's thighs. 

 

“I'm glad you're ok,” Nicole says quietly. “I was damn scared, Waverly.  _ Damn _ scared.”

 

“I'm sorry,” Waverly answers with a frown. “Really, I am. If I'd know it was going to turn out like this, I would have stayed put, but….”

 

“You wanted to play good guy and investigate?” Nicole offers with a raised eyebrow. 

 

“Look, I know I'm not you or Wynonna, but I'm not helpless, ok?” Waverly says a little stiffly. “Not totally, and I don't know, I wanted to prove that?”

 

“Baby,” Nicole says softly. “You don't have to prove anything to me. Or your sister.”

 

“I know you don't feel like I do,” Waverly replies a little moodily. “But, I do. It's hard, you know? When your sister’s the damn Heir and your girlfriend’s a cop. It's easy to feel inadequate sometimes.”

 

“Wave,” Nicole says quietly, like she  _ understands _ , her eyes a little guilty at not having realised earlier. 

 

“Just let me finish, ok?” Waverly asks. “It's nothing you've done and nothing you've made me feel, it's just the byproduct, you know? It is what it is.”

 

“I hadn't thought, Wave,” Nicole says gently. “I'm sorry. I'm really sorry.”

 

“It's fine, baby,” Waverly says soothing her, running her hand over Nicole's on her thigh. “Really, it's fine. It doesn't make me upset, not at either of you, it just makes me want to do something, you know?”

 

“Yeah, I know,” Nicole returns, and Waverly knows she does, so she smiles as she winds their fingers together, her concern settled in her chest now. “Still, I'm really sorry, Wave.”

 

“Enough sorrys out of you,” Waverly says, wrapping her calves around the back of Nicole's legs, pulling her closer. “I feel like I'm the one that should be apologising. I didn't mean to put myself in danger like that. I'm sorry that you worried. And I'm sorry you had to come get me. I'm sorry I put us all in danger.”

 

“If I'm not allowed any more sorrys, then you  _ definitely _ aren't,” Nicole advises, smiling as she slides her palms over Waverly's shoulders, and Waverly sighs at her touch. 

 

She pulls Waverly against the warmth of her body, and Waverly's sigh deepens, moving happily into the embrace as it lights a fire in her chest that feels like  _ home _ . 

 

“Still, though,” Nicole says firmly as she draws back from Waverly. “No running off to play hero without back up, ok? We don't, so you shouldn't either.”

 

“Yes,  _ Officer _ ,” Waverly returns with a smirk, her hands sliding around Nicole's waist, and she can feel the spark it sets against Nicole's skin when she says it. 

 

“Yeah, you're fine aren't you?” Nicole says more than asks, biting her lip and aiming for nonchalant, the black of her eyes giving her away to Waverly easily. 

 

“Fine enough for some things,” Waverly purrs as her hands move down towards Nicole's ass. “Take me home, baby.”

 

“We’ll see how good you feel when we get you home, I think,” Nicole says a little dubiously, but Waverly knows the heat beneath Nicole’s skin is there like it always is after a fight. 

 

“You have to dress me first,” Waverly offers teasingly. “Unless you want to take me home in the gown.”

 

“As tempting as that is, I think we'll leave that for the nice people here,” Nicole says with a smile. 

 

Waverly's calves are still wrapped around the backs of Nicole's own, and she doesn't actually want to do anything  _ here _ but she can't deny it's fun to watch Nicole heat up beneath her attention. She can see Nicole trying to work through something in her head as she untangles Waverly's top, though, looking down to Waverly when she's done. 

 

She leans in, sliding a hand on either side of Waverly's thighs on the bed before her mouth settles just below Waverly's earlobe over her pulse. 

 

“Behave yourself now, and I'll make it worth your while later,” Nicole breathes before her head turns and she presses a quick kiss to Waverly's neck, her teeth chasing her tongue. “You said something about a bath? The one at my place looks big enough for two, don't you think?”

 

Waverly shivers, head to toe, because they've talked about that before, but they haven't actually done it yet. Not together. 

 

“You're not just saying that to get clothes on me, are you?” Waverly returns, her voice sweet like honey. 

 

“I'm a  _ police officer _ , Waverly Earp,” Nicole says with a mock-frown. “I'm above bribery and corruption, thank you very much. Besides, it isn't bribery if I tell my girlfriend how badly I want to make her come, is it?”

 

Waverly's eyes go wide at that and she looks around the room, thanking god no one has taken advantage of their distraction to sneak in without their knowing. 

 

“What?” Nicole asks innocently when she pulls away, her mouth slightly open as she runs her tongue along the point of her canines. “You think I can't play that game, too?” 

 

“Top please,” Waverly says, suddenly feeling much hotter than she did a moment ago. 

 

Nicole smirks as Waverly takes the item from her hands, but she serves a parting shot back to Nicole, dropping her shoulders out of the loose hospital gown with no warning, knowing full well she didn't have a stitch on underneath. It exposes her chest bare to Nicole who only manages to look blankly at her while Waverly pulls her top on and over her head, not bothering with a bra. 

 

“What about….” Nicole asks a little dumbly, holding the piece of clothing in question up to Waverly with a slightly glazed expression on her face. 

 

“Why bother,” Waverly shrugs softly. “I'll only have to take it off as soon as I'm home.”

 

Nicole fixes her with an expression that very clearly says  _ you're not playing ball,  _ so Waverly smiles sweetly back, the picture of virtue. 

 

“I said I'd behave, baby,” Waverly says with a wink as she takes her jeans from a slightly lost-looking Nicole, easing them up her legs beneath her gown. “Not that I'd be a nun about it.”

 

The doctor chooses that moment to walk back into the room, and Waverly turns to her, nodding and listening as she explains one last time the conditions of her release and what they need to look out for. 

 

“Like I said, ideally I’d have someone watching you for the next forty eight hours,” the doctor explains looking from Waverly to Nicole, completely oblivious to the reason for Nicole's pink cheeks. “Is that going to be possible?”

 

“I think I can manage that,” Nicole says, taking the release papers from the doctor's hands, suddenly seemingly eager to leave. “Anything else?”

 

“Gentle physical activity is fine,” the doctor says, fixing them both with a look that says she understands Nicole's sudden haste  _ just _ fine. “But nothing too strenuous, ok?”

 

Waverly watches Nicole turn even redder at her words while she just smiles, feigning continued innocence as she eases herself off the bed. “Of course doctor, we wouldn't  _ dream _ of it.”

 

The doctor smiles one last time before she shows the two of them out. Nicole's arm slides firmly around her waist as they make their way to the car, and Waverly leans into it a little, but her feet are, thankfully, steadier than she was expecting, so the closeness with which she wraps herself around Nicole's body is mostly for their physical benefit rather than a need for actual support. 

 

“Take me home?” Waverly says, grinning as she buckles her seat belt. 

 

“You want to go to the homestead?” Nicole asks with a small frown, and Waverly can feel the slight disappointment in her voice, but she just smiles and shakes her head. 

 

“No,” Waverly says easily. “Home to your place, silly.”

 

“That's home, too?” Nicole asks, a little touched, and Waverly nods as Nicole beams. 

 

“Yeah,” Waverly replies softly. “It is. Is that….?”

 

“ _ More _ than ok, baby,” Nicole says in return as light leaks between her ribs. “ _ More _ than.”

 

“Good,” Waverly breathes as she presses Nicole’s hand to her mouth, kissing Nicole’s palm as her heart sings. “ _ Home _ , then.”

  
  


-

  
  


Nicole’s fingers are warm between her own as she leads Waverly through her front door. 

 

Waverly is exhausted, the bone-weariness heavy like a cloud on her shoulders, but even that can’t assuage the heat between her thighs. Or that the fact that she’s not wearing a bra is becoming more and more a problem. 

 

Waverly knows Nicole will have taken the doctor’s advice seriously, and while she might give in to a little heavy petting, she has a feeling Nicole will try and draw the line there. For tonight at least. 

 

So, naturally, her brain sets about calculating just how she might turn Nicole away from that particular decision point and back towards another. 

 

She’s running a scenario through her head where she just starts removing her clothes as she walks for the bath upstairs before Nicole does something that stops her in her tracks. 

 

They walk through the door and Waverly heads for the stairs, but instead of being able to move freely, she stops short, caught at the end of Nicole’s tether where she has stopped by the now closed door. 

 

“Nicole?” Waverly asks, her brow furrowed as Nicole tugs her gently back towards the door. 

 

She’s confused, really  _ genuinely _ confused, before Nicole pulls her close, almost flush to her own body, and backs her against the closed door. 

 

“You’re in trouble, Miss Earp,” Nicole breathes as she leans in to Waverly. 

 

“In trouble….?” Waverly says with a slightly shaky voice in reply. 

 

“Yes,” Nicole replies, leaning in to press her weight gently against Waverly, her thigh sliding between Waverly’s legs. “A lot of trouble.  _ Serious _ trouble, in fact.”

 

Waverly finds herself speechless in response. Flawed. Nervous.  _ Breathless _ . 

 

Not only because she’s in trouble and she, Miss Goody-Two Shoes has never been in trouble in her life, thank you very much, but also because Nicole’s breathing and her posture have  _ changed _ . 

 

“What kind of trouble?” Waverly asks with a nervous gulp. “At the hospital….you didn’t say anything. I just thought…..”

 

“You just thought  _ what _ ?” Nicole returns as her hands move up and over Waverly’s hips softly, stopping beneath her rib cage. “That that would be it? That there wouldn’t be a price to pay for scaring the life out of me?”

 

“But….” Waverly mumbles as her eyes flick up to Nicole’s ever darkening ones before they run across her chest, where she can imagine Nicole’s heart is beating faster and faster. 

 

“But what, baby?” Nicole says smoothly. “Because I didn’t say anything at the hospital, that I wouldn’t when we got home?”

 

“Well, yeah….” Waverly replies a little dumbly, and Nicole smirks down at her with a heat that makes her whole body shiver. 

 

“You’re a big girl, Waverly,” Nicole says, her voice a dangerously soft purr as she leans her weight against her thigh between Waverly’s legs. “I know you are, but you scared the crap out of me today. And I know why you did it, but we have things like back up for a reason.”

 

“I know,” Waverly replies guiltily, and she  _ is _ sorry, yes, but Nicole’s playing her a little around the edges of how she actually feels, and Waverly intends to do the same. “I know, baby. I’m sorry.”

 

“Are you?” Nicole asks with a raised eyebrow as she appraises Waverly’s sincerity.

 

“I’m sorry I made you worry,” Waverly says, serious for a moment as her hands move soothingly up Nicole’s arms. “I really am, Nicole.” 

 

“And?” Nicole offers, waiting for Waverly to finish her sentence. 

 

“I’ll make sure I don’t put myself in that situation again,” Waverly says with a soft voice, the hint of submission clear if Nicole wants to hear it. 

 

Because she loves this, when Nicole flexes her muscles and pulls rank. She  _ loves _ it, because even when she’s beneath Nicole, she still feels on top, she still feels like she has all the power to call the shots.  _ Always _ . 

 

“Good,” Nicole breathes as she leans down against Waverly’s lips. “Because I’ll do anything I have to to keep you safe, Wave. Including tying you to my damn bed if I have to.”

 

“Promise?” Waverly asks, her voice like silk. 

 

“Absolutely,” Nicole growls before she kisses Waverly hard, and the moan falls heavy from both of their lungs. 

 

Nicole pushes Waverly firmer against the door, not too hard, because she can feel Nicole so thoughtfully mindful of the doctor’s orders, but enough that she  _ feels _ . 

 

She’s throbbing when Nicole pulls away with a gasp, her breathing as heavy as Nicole’s when an idea comes to her suddenly. 

 

Nicole’s done this for her before, against this door and her bedroom door at the homestead, but Waverly’s never had the opportunity to reciprocate. 

 

Until now. 

 

She gives Nicole one last sultry look before she turns them, pushing Nicole against the door. Nicole tries to question her, but Waverly kisses her, long and slow, before she sinks to her knees. 

 

“Baby,” Nicole says, reaching down for Waverly’s arm in an attempt to stop her. “What are you doing?” 

 

“Paying my price,” Waverly answers as her hands find Nicole’s belt, working to undo the buckle. 

 

“I didn’t mean….” Nicole replies, and Waverly can see the concern clear in her eyes. 

 

“I know exactly what you mean, and I also know exactly where my limits are,” Waverly says firmly. “I know this isn’t too much, ok?”

 

“It had better not be,” Nicole husks as her voice darkens and her hold loosens where it’s holding Waverly back. “Because if you overdo it, you’ll be in even bigger trouble.”

 

“Yes,  _ Officer _ ,” Waverly says, her fingers pulling the leather tongue of Nicole’s belt free as she holds Nicole’s eye contact. 

 

It’s incredibly erotic, maintaining that level of intimacy as Waverly starts to undress her, and Waverly can feel her own heart pounding and her mouth watering at the thought of….

 

Her hands move Nicole’s zipper down before they slip beneath the edge of her pants and start to work the stiff fabric down over Nicole’s hips. 

 

She hears Nicole’s breath catch and  _ trip _ above her, smiling when she feels Nicole kick off her boots in haste and out of the way so that when Waverly brings her trousers all the way down, it’s easy for her to step out of them, leaving her half-bare in her underwear. 

 

She’s still wearing a fraction too much, even though Waverly doesn’t need her completely bare, so she stands once Nicole’s trousers are disposed of. Nicole furrows her brow in question before Waverly starts to pick at the buttons on the front of her shirt. 

 

“Not enough skin,” Waverly breathes against Nicole’s chest by way of an explanation as she moves down between her breasts in the hollow the now unbuttoned shirt has left. 

 

She doesn’t bother taking it all off, and it’s almost hotter this way. She smiles against the skin as Nicole moans, her chest shaking as Waverly’s tongue swirls over the exposed swell of flesh. 

 

“Jesus, Waverly,” Nicole groans as her nails bite into the flesh at the nape of Waverly’s neck, conscious of her tender scalp, and Waverly  _ glows _ at the response she’s able to elicit. 

 

“I’m sorry for making you worry,” Waverly says as she sinks to her knees again, Nicole’s trousers beneath her as padding. “I just wanted to prove that I could be strong, too.”

 

“You’re— you’re stronger than the rest of us put together,” Nicole manages to stutter as Waverly’s fingers slip beneath the edge of her underwear. 

 

She presses a warm kiss to Nicole’s still-clothed core, and Nicole groans at the heat of Waverly’s mouth against her. Waverly can feel the tremble in her body as she tries so desperately not to lose it and grind down against Waverly’s mouth, her fingers tightening at Waverly’s shoulder as she attempts to control herself. 

 

“You’re allowed to let go, you know,” Waverly breathes against Nicole, her lips brushing past her mound again. “I won’t tell.”

 

“I should hope not,” Nicole grits out as Waverly’s fingers start pulling at the elastic, dragging the now ruined fabric, down. “God, you’re gonna kill me, baby.”

 

“I hope not,” Waverly teases as she moves Nicole’s underwear down her legs, so slowly and so torturously that Waverly waits for her to  _ snap _ . 

 

She doesn’t fully, but it’s close to, and she makes it to Nicole’s knees before she feels the hand on her shoulder tighten pleasantly and Nicole growls somewhere above her. 

 

“ _ Waverly _ .”

 

“Yes, Nicole.”

 

“Stop teasing.”

 

“Is that an order?”

 

“Yes, baby.  _ It is _ .”

 

Nicole’s words reverberate through her like a shockwave, and she can feel the moan working its way up her spine so she decides to use it. She takes one last breath before she plants her mouth over Nicole, dripping and wanting, and  _ groans back _ . 

 

The vibrations from her lips almost bring Nicole to her knees, and she can feel the strength it takes Nicole to keep herself upright. Her hands tighten in the hair at the base of Waverly’s neck, away from the tender area higher, causing Waverly to hiss in response, and she can feel Nicole try to speak an apology, but she doesn’t need it, so she works her tongue in circles as if to say  _ I’m ok, baby,  _ and  _ this is what I wanted,  _ instead. 

 

She’d been distracted before by trying to use her moan, but she takes the moment now to  _ concentrate _ , to feel how ready Nicole is for her, how rich she tastes. 

 

Very,  _ very _ ready is the answer. And  _ beautifully _ rich is the taste. 

 

She alternates the movement of her tongue, drawing long lazy lines up Nicole’s length before tightening to play with the small bundle she can feel, sucking it lightly into her mouth. 

 

Nicole shudders above her, her moans silent and clipped for now, but they’re starting to slip, which is exactly what Waverly wants. Because she’s so controlled so many hours of the day, and Waverly loves that part of her, but she knows how much energy it takes to hold that control, and she wants Nicole to relax, too. She wants Nicole to ease the hold she has on her own body and  _ let go.  _

 

Waverly’s hands are splayed, her fingers spread wide against the muscle of Nicole’s upper thighs, and as wonderful as it is to feel Nicole twitch and shake, she wants to use them elsewhere. 

 

She moves one of them down Nicole’s leg to her ankle, helping her calf up and over Waverly’s shoulder and it’s a double positive because it gives Nicole added strength to her weakening legs, and it opens her up for Waverly more, too. 

 

Waverly moans at the extra room she has to move her tongue through, and her hand tightens over Nicole’s thigh at her shoulder as Nicole’s moans start to lose shape. 

 

She’s moving eagerly, lapping, collecting the wetness as she pushes her tongue against Nicole. She’s so lovely like this, so open and completely herself, holding nothing back as she gives herself willingly to Waverly’s mouth. 

 

Nicole’s leg tightens over Waverly’s shoulder when she starts moving with more purpose against Nicole, a goal in mind, no longer eager exploration, but target sighted instead. 

 

She brings one of her hands to spread Nicole wider before the other crawls up Nicole’s inner thigh. Waverly leans back so she can look up at Nicole and she hears Nicole audibly lose it at the sight, her breath catching when she sees Waverly, head tilted up, watching her with glistening lips. 

 

She holds Nicole’s eye contact as she leans in with another long swipe of her tongue before the other spare hand, not holding Nicole open, moves through Nicole’s wetness, waiting at the source of warmth. 

 

“Do you….?” Waverly asks, intentionally coy, a transparent attempt to turn Nicole on even more. 

 

“Yes, Wave.  _ Please _ ,” Nicole moans as her hands move in Waverly’s hair to cup her cheek instead. It places her thumb within the range of Waverly’s lips and she moves, lightning quick, to take the finger between her teeth before she sucks firmly. 

 

Nicole’s breath starts to come out as a groan, but it turns much, much deeper when Waverly, her teeth still around Nicole’s finger, sinks one, and then two fingers, effortlessly into Nicole. 

 

“ _ Baby _ ,” Waverly gasps herself as she drops Nicole’s thumb and moves back towards her true goal. She covers Nicole with her mouth before she groans, too. “You’re so….”

 

“It’s kinda par for the course when your girlfriend— _ jesus _ , Waverly—drops to her knees and goes down on you the second you walk through the front door,” Nicole manages to stutter out between sharp inhales as Waverly starts pumping her fingers in complement to the movement of her tongue. 

 

“What else do you need?” Waverly asks, blowing warm air against Nicole’s core when she takes a breath. “What else, Nicole?”

 

“Nothing,” Nicole answers quickly as Waverly’s tongue finds her clit and she arches hard against the front door into Waverly’s hands and mouth. “I’m so close, baby. I’m  _ so _ close.”

 

And she is, Waverly can tell. 

 

The tremor in her legs is starting to win over the strength and her moans are messier and her hand tightens in Waverly’s hair more and more frequently, like she needs Waverly to push her over the edge so badly she can barely stand it. 

 

“Let go,” Waverly purrs softly against Nicole as her fingers drive hard and fast and her tongue swirls before helping to pull Nicole’s clit gently into her mouth. “Let go, Nicole. I’m here.”

 

So she does. 

 

It’s so powerful, feeling Nicole’s release this  _ close _ to everything. She twitches and grinds down against Waverly’s mouth and pulls against Waverly’s fingers, drawing her further into a velvet embrace. 

 

Her moan is noiseless, her lips falling open soundlessly as her whole body bends for Waverly. Soft pink parting before she takes her own bottom lip between her teeth as she chases every wave that rolls through her body. 

 

It’s powerful, too, knowing that Waverly can draw this much from a lover—no, a  _ soulmate _ —who has had others in her bed. That Waverly can make her feel this  _ much _ with her own body.  

 

She can feel Nicole slowing above her, but she doesn’t ease up, not yet. She hadn’t even known such a thing was possible until Nicole had granted her a well-fought second release during one of their first times together, but that’s what she searches for now. 

 

Nicole’s first orgasm ebbs back, but it only makes Waverly push harder for the second. Her tongue moves firm and sure, dipping low to meet her fingers before drawing circle after circle as her fingers curl, searching for that one spot that always makes Nicole break. 

 

She shifts slightly changing the angle of her thrust and just like that, she  _ finds _ it. 

 

Nicole’s moan is audible this time,  _ very _ much so, and it makes Waverly ache, too, because she knows how much it takes for Nicole to make noise like this. 

 

She falls apart completely around Waverly this time, warmth filling Waverly’s mouth as she hurries to collect it. Nicole’s entire form goes slack as the last shock leaves her, and her body releases its hold on Waverly’s fingers and against her mouth. 

 

“Oh, my god,” Nicole groans as she tilts her head against the door, her eyes closed. “Oh, my _ god _ .”

 

“I don’t think he’s here,” Waverly says, as she moves softly, catching the last few precious drops as the final aftershocks leave Nicole. 

 

“I don’t know if  _ I’m _ here,” Nicole returns, gravelly, as she reaches down for Waverly, and Waverly can feel her own matching ache, a need to fall against the length of her body urgently, too. 

 

“Ok?” Waverly asks, her voice a little nervous as she stands, wiping delicately at the corners of her mouth. Because she always is, after that, with the memory of Nicole’s  _ before _ at her back. 

 

“You were here, right?” Nicole deadpans before she wraps her arms around Waverly’s shoulders. Her face softens before she looks down to Waverly, tilting her chin back. “It was incredible, baby, I don’t actually know how I’m still standing.”

 

“Neither do I,” Waverly returns, and the sentiment actually applies to both of them, because she doesn’t know how Nicole is, but the fatigue of the day is starting to nip at her heels now that things have slowed, too. 

 

“Hey,” Nicole says gently as she looks Waverly over. “You look a little peaky, are you ok?” 

 

“I’m fine,” Waverly answers with a breath, because she  _ is _ , she’s just a little tired, but that recedes further and further the warmer her need grows against Nicole. “I promise, just a little drained.”

 

“Do you know what always works for me?” Nicole asks, and Waverly watches as she listens to the pulse of Waverly’s body, assessing what she can ask of it and what it needs. 

 

“What’s that?” Waverly questions back, her hands sliding around Nicole’s waist as she looks up. 

 

“A bath,” Nicole purrs, and Waverly’s whole body goes molten at the mere suggestion. 

 

“A  _ bath _ ,” Waverly repeats, her voice a low whisper and her mind already fantasising about the way the hot water will feel over her aching limbs. “I forgot you have a bath.” 

 

“I  _ do _ have a bath,” Nicole says back as she starts to press small, light kisses across the bridge of Waverly’s nose. “Maybe, if you’ll let me, I’ll give you one very good reason to never forget I have a bath, ever again.”

 

“Oh, yeah?” Waverly says, the shyness for show, because she loves it when Nicole  _ convinces _ .

 

“Yeah,” Nicole answers as she crouches slightly, lifting Waverly up easily. Her hands slide around Waverly’s ass, holding her steady and Waverly relaxes completely, her body echoing with  _ safe _ , and  _ home _ . “Shall I?”

 

“Yeah,” Waverly nods as she drapes her arms around Nicole’s shoulders and she looks up towards the stairs. “I’d like that. I’d like that a  _ lot _ .”

  
  


-

  
  


The water is healing and soothing, but not as much as the soft contact of Nicole’s body at her back. 

 

The bath is plenty big enough, but Waverly thinks they would have found room for both of them regardless. 

 

Nicole is behind her, her knees propped up on either side of Waverly so she can rest her arms on them as she leans back against Nicole. Waverly knows it’s not  _ actually _ possible, but she’s so comfortable she feels as though if she holds her eyes closed for much longer, they might just melt into one body. 

 

“Better?” Nicole asks as her fingers play with Waverly’s atop her knees, her mouth soft at Waverly’s shoulder. 

 

“Hmmmm,” Waverly moans as the water  _ eases _ . “Better. I might fall asleep if you keep kissing me like that.”

 

“That’s ok, you know?” Nicole offers as she looks down to Waverly’s form, her touch running lightly over the bruises forming around Waverly’s wrists. “You can sleep if you want. I’ve got you, baby.”

 

And Waverly would, because she doesn’t think she’s ever been so comfortable in her entire life, but she can still feel the unresolved throb between her thighs, and Nicole’s nipples pressing against her back aren’t helping in the slightest. 

 

She can feel a war in Nicole, too. Part of her will be desperate to reciprocate, because she  _ always _ likes to make sure Waverly is more than satisfied, which she would be regardless, but she can also feel how conscious Nicole is of the toll pressed on Waverly’s body already today, and she doesn’t want to push. 

 

She’ll show Nicole what she wants then, that she’s ready if Nicole will have her. That her exhaustion will just have to wait. 

 

She turns her head a fraction, offering her neck to Nicole. She feels Nicole’s breath stop softly against her back and she knows that Nicole  _ understands _ . 

 

She bends to Waverly, her mouth sliding along the curve of her shoulder until she meets the juncture of Waverly’s neck. She leaves a few open mouthed kisses, slow and long like they have all the time in the world, before she bites down lightly and Waverly can only groan. 

 

“Nicole,” she breathes in response, in  _ encouragement _ , as she exposes as much of her neck as she can to Nicole’s touch. 

 

“Ok?” Nicole asks as she smiles against Waverly’s pulse. 

 

“Yes,” Waverly says, arching her back as her hands tighten over Nicole’s knees. “Very, very ok.”

 

Permission granted, Nicole moves her mouth up and over to the other side, kissing the nape of Waverly’s neck at the midpoint before she resumes her attentions on the other side. 

 

“Have I told you how thankful I am that you’re ok in the last five minutes?” Nicole asks as her hands move from gently holding Waverly’s wrists. She follows the line of Waverly’s body along her arms before her fingertips ghost over the curve of Waverly’s bare breasts. “Because I really,  _ really _ am, Waverly.”

 

“Will you show me?” Waverly pleads as she pushes against Nicole’s chest, searching for the scrape of raised nipples against her back. 

 

“Always,” Nicole whispers to the shell of Waverly’s ear before her fingers give Waverly’s breasts one last squeeze as they move down Waverly’s stomach. “I’ll show you every day of our lives, if you want, baby.”

 

“Will you want me every day?” Waverly asks with a quiet voice as she closes her eyes, and  _ feels,  _ opening herself up to Nicole completely.  _ “Do _ you want me every day?”

 

“I want you every  _ second _ of every day,” Nicole answers, and Waverly can feel the smile in her response. “You make me insatiable, Waverly Earp. You make me want you so badly I can barely stand it.”

 

The conviction and strength in her voice is so firm that Waverly knows in an instant that Nicole’s words are true. That she feels them with every  _ ounce _ of her being. 

 

Nicole’s hand slips lower at her words, and her fingers move so easily through Waverly that she can feel how wet she is, they both can, even surrounded by water like they are. 

 

“So do I,” Waverly says in return, and all of a sudden she cannot bear that they’re not kissing. “ _ God _ , Nicole, so do I.”

 

She turns a little in Nicole’s arms, sliding her hand behind her and into Nicole’s hair as she pulls her down for a kiss that makes Waverly ache so hard beneath Nicole’s touch that she thinks Nicole cannot possibly miss it. 

 

Nicole growls, low and steady against Waverly’s lips and she pushes her tongue into Waverly’s mouth, and they both moan so loudly at the contact, Waverly thanks god they’d chosen to come here instead of going back to the homestead because  _ that _ , the neighbours five miles away would have heard. 

 

She breaks away from the kiss with a gasp after a minute or so, though, because Nicole isn’t rushing, she’s taking her time, but Waverly is so ready that she’s just about on edge, and they’ve barely begun. 

 

“I don’t think I’m going to last, baby,” Waverly breathes against Nicole’s lips as she spreads Waverly with her fingers before pushing  _ in _ . “I don’t think I can wait.”

 

“You don’t have to,” Nicole says, her voice the perfect mix of honey and iron as she nips at Waverly’s bottom lip before she nudges Waverly’s chin away so she can fix her teeth to Waverly’s neck again. “I want you to come for me, Waverly.  _ Now _ .”

 

She’d be embarrassed at how swiftly she responds if it wasn’t so overwhelming. If she could fit one thought into her head that wasn’t Nicole, Nicole,  _ Nicole _ .

 

Because Nicole’s barely started and she’s coming, clamping down hard around Nicole’s fingers as her thumb strokes her clit firmly, drawing her orgasm out from her fingertips. 

 

Her moan isn’t loud this time, it’s choked and desperate, and she can barely breathe because it’s  _ so much _ . Because today has been so heavy, but Nicole is here. Nicole has her. Nicole is inside her, and she should be falling apart, but she’s never felt so safe in her entire life. 

 

“ _ Easy _ , baby,” Nicole purrs as Waverly arches her back, the gaps between her spine cracking as she bows against her lover. “I’ve got you.”

 

And she does. Waverly can feel that she does, so when Nicole offers to catch her, Waverly falls. 

 

Eyes closed and hands behind her back, holding Nicole close, she  _ falls _ . 

 

She feels like someone is trying to pull her off this plane of existence as the waves of pleasure ripple through her body, but Nicole is there. 

 

Steady and holding her solid, Nicole is  _ there _ . 

 

Her fingers against Waverly’s core, and within her, steer her through her orgasm, and Nicole’s lips at her neck tether her to the ground, and she’s sure it only lasts a few seconds, but it feels like hours. 

 

She tries to steady her breath as everything slows, and she can feel Nicole smiling at her concerted effort before she slackens, going completely pliant against Nicole’s front. 

 

“Yeah,” Waverly says, her voice rough as she picks Nicole’s hand up and presses open-mouthed kisses to her palm. “I  _ really _ don’t think I’m going to forget you have a bath in a hurry.”

 

“Good,” Nicole returns as she extracts her teeth from their gentle hold against Waverly’s neck. “Because if you need one last solid reminder, to make sure the message sticks, I am  _ more _ than happy to do that.”

 

“Oh,” Waverly says, moving Nicole’s hand low, low,  _ lower _ down, to brush against a heavier wetness than before. “Well if that’s the case, I’m sorry to tell you that my memory has completely failed me, and I think I’m  _ definitely _ going to need another reminder. One last one before bed, should do the trick.”

 

“Just one?” Nicole asks, her voice hot like molten lead. “Oh  _ baby _ , how are we  _ ever _ going to stop at that.”

  
  


-

  
  


**end.**

  
  


-

**Author's Note:**

> I hope that was a bit of fun? 
> 
> I'd love to hear what you all thought, stop on by below or come and say hi on [tumblr](http://tigerlo.tumblr.com).
> 
> I'll post a little note about some of my other projects there later today if I can, so come by and check that out if you're interested ;)
> 
> x


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